1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet head and an ink jet recording apparatus, and particularly, to an ink jet head and an ink jet recording apparatus which discharge ink from nozzles via a plurality of pressure chambers from a common flow path.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, as an image forming apparatus, an ink jet recording apparatus which has an ink jet head in which a large number of nozzles are arranged, and which forms an image on a recording medium by discharging ink as droplets toward the recording medium from the nozzles while moving the ink jet head and the recording medium relatively has been known.
As such an ink jet recording apparatus, for example, in JP2010-69669A, there is disclosed a droplet discharge device which includes storage means that stores liquid and is provided with a delivery port and a return port for the stored liquid, a circulation pathway having a first circulation portion in which liquid circulates at a first predetermined flow velocity and a second circulation portion in which liquid circulates at a second flow velocity faster than the first flow velocity, and which is for circulating liquid so as to send liquid stored in the storage means from the delivery port and then return liquid from the return port to the storage means, circulation means that circulates liquid in the circulation pathway, and droplet discharge means which discharges droplets and in which a supply port for liquid for discharging droplets and the first circulation portion are connected to each other and a discharge port for liquid and the second circulation portion are connected to each other.
In an image forming apparatus having an ink jet head, such as an ink jet recording apparatus, a configuration is made so as to discharge ink droplets from a recording head (a liquid discharge head) by supplying ink from an ink tank that stores ink via an ink supply flow path to the ink jet head and driving a drive element provided in each discharge element of the recording head by applying a drive signal from a drive signal generation source.
As an ink jet recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus having such a structure, for example, in JP2006-69113A, there is disclosed an ink jet recording head which is provided with a plurality of blocks each having a group of nozzles disposed in a matrix form and an ink supply flow path composed of a branch path and a pair of main paths communicating with both ends of the branch path and in which ink is supplied to a nozzle via the branch path of the ink supply flow path.